Please see latest guidance from Healthwatch in regards to understanding and getting the best from your GP Practice.

Please click on link below

How to get the best from your GP Practice.pdf

Each month we will be providing patients with an update on Practice Workload, this will be shown in the surgery, on our Facebook page and on this website.

In September:

Appointments attended by patients- 9244, these were either face to face or over the phone.

Appointments cancelled by patients - 190

Appointments where patients did not attend and did not cancel in advance - 198- please cancel you appointment where possible if you do not need it as these are wasted and amount to over 50 hours worth over the month.

Prescriptions Issued- 14,667

Telephone calls received - 5,406

Referrals made - 344

Thank you so much to our admin team, clinicians and pharmacists.

We will be contacting elgible patients in the next few weeks to book a Covid Vaccination as part of the Autumn programme.

Housebound patients will be contacted initially to arrange for a nurse visit to administer the vaccine.

All Covid vaccination for all other than housebound patients will be administered at Cobblers Hall/Jubilee Practice however they need to be booked at this Practice.

We are running both walk-in and also pre-bookable appointments for the Influenza vaccine this Autumn.

The criteria remains unchanged-

over 65's

patients between 18-65 with certain long term conditions/immuosuppressed- please check with the surgery if you are not sure if you are elgible

Pregnant women

Children aged 2-3 years for nasal flu vaccine

Our walk in Flu clinics are as follows:

Saturday 5th October 8.30am-12.30pm Walk in for over 65's

Saturday 12th October 8.30am-12.30pm Walk in for eliglible 18-64 year olds

Saturday 19th October 8.30am-12.30pm Walk in for all of the above

In addition we have pre-bookable Flu vaccine appointments Monday- Friday from Thursday 3rd October. Eligible patients will be receiving text message invites with a link to book for pre-bookable or you can attend the walk in clinics.

NHS England are now providing a programme for vaccination re RSV.

RSV is one of the common viruses that cause coughs and colds in the winter. It is transmitted by large droplets and by secretions from contact with an infected person. The virus can survive on surfaces or objects for up to 7 hours.

The RSV epidemics start in October and last for 4-5 months. In most people is it a mild illness however over the last 2 years more people have ended up in hospital with RSV than Influenza or Covid 19.

High risk groups are ages between 75 and 80 and also pregnant women.

We are providing the vaccination service for our patients in the eligible cohort starting from 9th September. These are pre-bookable appointments Monday- Friday in the surgery.

Please contact the surgery to book an appointment. Eligible patients will also receive either a letter or text message.

This vaccination is in addition to the Influenza and Covid vaccinations.

The prescribing of over the counter medicines is changing, GP's, nurses and pharmacists will now not be giving prescriptions for over the counter medicines for a range of minor health concerns.

Instead these are available to purchase from local pharmacies and supermarkets.

This Practice will be making these changes and you will notified when your over the counter treatment will be removed from your prescription.

Please see link for information leaflet.OTC -PIL Patient info.leaflet-2pg print-ready.pdf

On Sunday 9th June 26 staff including GP Partners, Nurses, Managers and Admin staff took part in Darlington 5K Race for Life in aid of Cancer research. This was in support of one of the team Gill, who was diagnosed with cancer in July 2023 and after surgery and treatment she is now cancer free and back working at our Heighington surgery.

In total we raised £3631.79 from the donations made from our patients and from the staff's members of family and friends, thank you.

Please see some photos of the day.all.docx

Pic 1.docx

Pic 13.docx

If you need to request a letter from a GP "To Whom it May Concern", the process is to complete the required form which youc an find at reception or attached on the website. There is a £30 fee which needs to be paid at Reception when handing in the form and you will be given a receipt.

You will be contacted when the letter is ready to collect.

Kind regards

Alison

Practice Manager17.TWMC request from patient.docx

https://swd.news/wellbeing-coach-offers-free-fitness-classes-to-practice-patients/

Please see details above of Free fitness classes that our health and wellbeing coach is delivering in Newton Aycliffe.

Poster.pdf

We have 2 Better at health award champions at the surgery, Jo one of our Nursing team and Jan, our Admin Team Manager. 

Their work in this role is to determine the areas we can improve and offer to our workforce ways to improve their wellbeing at work.

Please see their recent newsletter below

newsletter.docx

Please see below link to the most recent patient survery results

Patient Survery Part 1.pdf

Patient Survey Part 2.pdf

As you will see from our results we have achieved excellent results in certain areas such as "Helpfulness of receptionists" and the Healthcare professional was good at listening to the patient".

In terms of the areas we could improve the Practice has been working on an action plan for improvement which is below for reference.

We welcome our patients to complete all our surveys, this current survey only 100 patients completed the surveys.

Patient survey action plan 2023.docx

We are delighted to announce that Dr Paul Finn is now a GP Partner at the Practice.

This means we are now a 6 Partner Practice again.

Our Practice Nurse Jo Jones has been named as NHS champion by Paul Howell MP.

Please click on link below for full details.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23635447.newton-aycliffe-nurse-named-nhs-champion-paul-howell-mp/

Please log onto Facebook and check out the Surgery's Facebook page.

This will include key information about the Practice and its services.

Please tell your friends and family.

If you are registered with our Heighington Dispensary, from Monday 21 June, you can collect this medication at the following times: